Ethereum Switches To PoS, ETH Falls Below $1,500 As Over $150M Is Liquidated

The biggest news in the cryptoverse for Sept. 15 includes ETH falling below $1,500 as over $150M is liquidated, the first post-merge NFT “The Transition” minting for $60,000, Charles Hoskinson saying that Ethereum’s Merge changes nothing.

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Ethereum switches to PoS after successfully completing the Merge

Arguably the biggest moment in the history of the Ethereum ecosystem transpired on Sept. 15 as Ethereum migrated to a proof-of-stake network at 06:43 UTC.

In celebration, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin tweeted to thank everyone who made the Merge happen.

And we finalized!

Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 15, 2022

The Merge is expected to reduce Ethereum’s power consumption by 99%.

First post-Merge Ethereum NFT minted for $60K

Following the success of the merge, a user made history by spending 36 ETH (approximately $60,000) to mint the first NFT on the proof-of-stake (PoS) network. The high cost was a result of the user choosing to pay gas fees far beyond the average to ensure the transaction went through in the first block.

To commemorate the merge, the Panda-faced NFT was tagged “The Transition.”

Ethereum falls below $1,500 as over $150M is liquidated in 24 hours

The excitement around the Merge saw $ETH start a rally towards $1,800. However, the move was shortlived as $150 million was liquidated off the market.

The price of Ethereum briefly touched $1,640 before falling below $1,500. As a result, roughly $98.6 million in longs were liquidated, while just $48.3 million in shorts were liquidated. Overall, the total liquidation of $ETH in the last 24 hours exceeded $150 million.

Ethereum Classic hashrate surges to over 200 TH/s post-Merge

With mining becoming obsolete on the Ethereum mainnet, PoW miners have flocked to the Ethereum Classic ecosystem.

According to 2Miners data, the migration of miners caused Ethereum Classic’s hashrate to reach a record high of 222.5 TH/s, showing an increase of over 250%.